Dispenser for a stack of bottles provided with means for regulating the releasing speed of the bottom bottle and consequently the falling velocity of each bottle

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for a stack of bottles is provided with a device for regulating the releasing speed of the bottom bottle and hence the falling velocity of each bottle; this device comprises a sector provided with teeth, which is caused to oscillate on its center by the weight of the bottles, and an oscillating arm provided with a tooth adjacent each of its ends, which teeth engage alternately the teeth of the sector, thus slowing down the oscillating velocity of the sector.

United States Patent [54] DISPENSER FOR A STACK 0F BOTTLES PROVIDED WITH MEANS FOR REGULATING THE RELEASING SPEED OF THE BOTTOM BOTTLE AND CONSEQUENTLY THE FALLING VELOCITY OF EACH BOTTLE 6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl

[51] Int. Cl G07f 11/08 [50] Field of Search ..221/67, 295

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,443,376 6/1948 Case 221/295 X 2,682,440 6/1954 Rogers 221/295 Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman Attorney-Holman & Stern ABSTRACT: A dispenser for a stack of bottles is provided with a device for regulating the releasing speed of the bottom bottle and hence the falling velocity of each bottle; this device comprises a sector provided with teeth, which is caused to oscillate on its center by the weight of the bottles, and an oscillating arm provided with a tooth adjacent each of its ends, which teeth engage alternately the teeth of the sector, thus slowing down the oscillating velocity of the sector.

PATENTED 0m 5 I9?! SHEET 3 0F 4 INVENTOR 10024501: @0210 QME ATTORNEYS PATIENTED 001 5197i 3510.465

:luiil mllliii DISPENSER FOR A STACK OF BOTTLES PROVIDED WITH MEANS FOR REGULATING THE RELEASING SPEED OF THE BOTTOM BOTTLE AND CONSEQUENTLY THE FALLING VELOCITY OF EACH BOTTLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to apparatus for the automatic distribution by gravity of objects, such as bottled drinks, and more particularly to a device for adjusting and slowing down the free fall by gravity of each object during its distribution.

Gravity distributors are already known in the technology of this art which comprise at least one storage column in which the objects of substantially cylindrical form to be distributed are housed in two vertical rows so that the axes of the two rows are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of any object to be distributed, with the storage column terminating in an exit channel in which an interceptor member is arranged for movement between a first position in which it impedes the exit of the objects of the distributor and a second position in which the fall by gravity of a single object at a time is permitted.

However, these devices give rise to a serious disadvantage, namely that the object to be distributed once it is disengaged from the interceptor member falls freely without further constraints or restrictions.

Thus, for example, in the case of glass bottles, not only is it the cause of frequent breakages but also constitutes an impassable limitation to the size and hence capacity of the botties for which distribution is possible, beyond which breakage becomes inevitable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention eliminates the disadvantage mentioned above and consists essentially of a device joined to the interceptor member, which renders gradual the disengagement between the member itself and the object being distributed, with a consequent braking of the object.

For this object in an automatic distributor of the type briefly illustrated above, a device is provided for adjusting the releasing speed of bottom object and consequently falling velocity of the object comprising a first toothed angular sector rigidly secured to an interceptor member and rotatable therewith about the vertex of the sector, and a free rotatable arm having a tooth adjacent each end, with the teeth meshing with the teeth of the sector alternately and in succession.

In a preferred embodiment, the present device comprises a locking pivot which engages a restraining or slot formed in said pivot being disengageable from an anchor, with the notch so as to permit the rotation of the angular toothed sector about its pivot point, and a tooth of cusp profile formed in the plane of the toothed sector in front of the notch, by which the locking pivot is caused to securely engage the restraining notch at the end of the distribution of an individual object from the column of objects.

The main advantage of the device according to this invention resides in the fact that the energy generated by the descent of the entire column of objects to be distributed is transformed into mechanical work with which the descent of the object being distributed is controlled and rendered gradual.

A further advantage of this invention is that the adjusting device is insensitive to load variations, or rather the slowing down is more or less constant between wide limits of quantity of objects to be distributed.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the description which follows of a preferred embodiment illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a column of the automatic distributor apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view looking in the direction of the arrow F of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are front elevational views showing successive arrangements of the various members during the distribution of a bottle;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are elevational views illustrating in detail the device for adjusting the falling velocity at two different stages in the distribution operation;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a further embodiment of the device according to the invention in position;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view showing the device of FIG. 8 at the beginning of the distribution cycle; and

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view depicting the device in the rest position which it assumes after said distribution cycle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Considering first FIGS. 1 and 2, a column 10 of an automatic distributor apparatus is partially shown in which guides 11, 12 and 13 provide a space or cavity 14, which serves as storage means and in which bottles 15 and 16 are arranged in two vertical rows whose aces l7 and 18 are spaced in the horizontal direction by a distance less than the diameter of the bottles 15, 16, whereby the bottles are located mutually offset vertically in the two rows.

The guides l1, l2 and 13 are in turn, adjustable by a usual method known in the art, so as to be able to adapt the size of the cavity 14 to the particular dimensions and capacity of the bottles to be distributed.

The entire column of bottles is supported by a roller 19 having an overlap 20 extending over a part of the roller length which is in direct contact with the lateral surface of the lowest bottle of the column. The back extremity of the roller 19 is rotatably pivoted on a fixed pivot 22 by means of an arm 21, while the front extremity is secured into a toothed sector 23 of triangular form whose vertex is rotatably pivoted on a pivot 24.

Before its point of rigid fixing to the sector 23, the front extremity of the roller 19 passes through a slot 25 formed in a plate 42 which is rigid with the guide 11 and which has an area equal to the oscillation required of the roller 19 in its motion of disengaging the last bottle of both parts with respect to the rest position.

The toothed sector 23 is provided with a pivot pin 26 projecting forwardly, and teeth 27, engaged alternately by teeth 28 and 29 located adjacent the ends of a rocker arm 30.

The arm 30 is pivoted in a freely rotatable manner to the plate 42 by means ofa pivot 31.

An electromagnetic anchor system is provided for operating the distributor, and comprises an electromagnet 32, a block 33 of suitable material which is attracted upwardly when the electromagnet 32 is energized and an anchor 34 fixed to the block 33 by means of a pivot 35.

As clearly seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the anchor 34 is fixed to the pivots 24 and 31, so as to be capable the corresponding of vertical movement because of the corresponding slots 36 and 37 respectively.

A slit 38 is formed in the anchor 34 which has an opening 39 in its middle portion for receiving the pivot pin 26. It is seen that the slit 38 is arcuate with an angular width corresponding to that of the slot 25 and hence to the amplitude of the angular movement required of the roller 19 during operation of the distributor.

Finally, the anchor 34 is drawn downwardly by a spring 40 which has one extremity fixed to the guide 11 and the other extremity fixed to a plate 41 rigidly secured to the anchor 34.

In order to better understand the operation of the present device reference will now be made to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

As seen in FIG. 3, the apparatus is in the rest position with the lowest bottle 15 supported by the part 20 of the roller 19, which cannot move because the pivot pin 26 is locked in the slot 39. When a suitable electrical impulse reaches the electromagnet 32, the block 33 is pulled upwardly entraining therewith the anchor 34, against the action of the spring 40.

At this point, the weight of the column acting on the roller 19 causes movement of the roller towards the right (FIG. 4) together with the toothed sector 23. As will be clarified later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the movement of the roller 19 towards the right is gradual and slowed down.

When the bottle has been released, the simultaneous descent of the column of bottles carries the bottle 16 lying above into contact with the roller 19, thus blocking its movement towards the right and exercising thereon a force which tends to move the roller to the left.

Simultaneously, theelectromagnet 32 is deenergized and the spring 40 returns the anchor 34 downwardly.

Consequently, as soon as the pivot 26 reaches the slot 39, it is once again locked therein, and the roller 19 again locked in the rest position, supporting the entire column of bottles.

Considering now FIGS. 6 and 7, the device for slowing down the descent of the bottle to be distributed is shown in detail. When the roller 19 starts to rotate towards the right, it tends to entrain therewith the toothed sector 23. Hence, the teeth 27 mesh with the tooth 28 of the arm 30. However, because of the particular configuration of the teeth 27 and the teeth 28 and 29, the force acting on the roller 19 and thus on the sector 23 tends to withdraw the tooth 28 from the spaced between adjacent teeth, and sincethe arm 30 is rotating about the pivot 31 the tooth 29 is caused to mesh with the teeth 27.

The force on the roller 19 continuing to be exerted, this latter meshing is also interrupted and the rocker arm 30 once again meshes the tooth 28 with the teeth 27, this time however with the immediately successive tooth.

In this way, with a series of successive oscillations of the rocker arm 30, the toothed sector 23 rotates stepwise towards the right until it completely blocks the bottle 15. Simultaneously the column of bottles descends slowly until the roller 19 is in contact with the bottle 16 immediately standing above that previously released.

It is worthy of note that the slowing down action caused by the toothed sector and rocker arm comes about in both directions of movement of the roller 19.

H68. 8, 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the present invention particularly suitable for the distribution of objects of small dimensions, such as bottles.

It is clear that once the pivot pin 26 is disengaged from its slot 39, the adjustment device operates only by the force of gravity exercised by the column of bottles thereabove. It can consequently happen that, especially in the case of distribution of drinks contained in small bottles, the thrust of the column is reduced to the point of not being sufficient to overcome the inertia that the escapement device offers, especially at the beginning of the operational cycle. It can further happen that because of a mechanical or electrical fault, the anchor stops in an unblocked position and the distribution cycles can follow one another without the introduction of further coins until the machine is empty.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, edge 51 of the slit 38 is shaped opposite the slot 39 according to a cusp profile whose vertex 52 is arranged on the centerline of the slot 39, being distant from corners 43, 44 of the exit of the slot by an amount slightly greater than the diameter of the pivot 26, and distant d from the mouth of the hollow and therefore from the line joining the corners 43, 44 which is less than the diameter of the pivot 26.

The above-mentioned shape attains the purpose of causing the pivot 26 to enter securely into the slot 39 at the end of each individual extraction cycle and simultaneously force the anchor 34 to descend towards the rest position if by any chance it has remained for any reason raised, but not blocked.

If, however, the anchor remains blocked in the raised position, the pivot 26 stops against the cusp (FIG. 9) with the impossibility of being able to travel over it freely, and the operation of the distributor stops. More particularly, the anchor 34 is forced to descend by the spring 40 and the pivot pin 26 acting on the adjacent flank or surface of the vertex 52, when the bottom bottle has been released, is returned towards the center position by reason of the weight of the column of bottles. However, if the anchor 34 does not descend to its rest position, the pin 26 cannot pass to the other side of the slit 38 without being blocked within the slot 39.

Finally, the object is attained of facilitating starting of the operational cycle because of the breakaway action which the cusp exerts on the pivot pin 26 each time that the cusp 52 comes into contact with the pivot pin on raising the anchor.

In the figures and description, reference has been specifically made to an automatic distributor for bottles, but it is clear that the invention is not limited in this sense, it being applicable to the automatic distribution by gravity of any object having a substantially cylindrical form. The invention has been described with reference to two preferred embodiments but numerous modifications are possible within the field of the inventive concept.

lclaim:

1. An automatic distributor for substantially cylindrical objects, and more particularly bottled drinks, comprising at least one storage column in which the objects to be distributed are arranged in two vertical rows such that the vertical axes of the two rows are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of any object, said column terminating in an exit channel in which an interceptor member is arranged for movement between a first position in which it impedes the exit of the objects and a second position in which the fall by gravity of a single object at a time is permitted, comprising a device for adjusting the releasing speed of the bottom object and hence the falling velocity of the object distributed including a first toothed angular sector rigidly secured to said interceptor member and rotatable therewith about the vertex of the sec tor, and a second free rocker arm having a tooth adjacent each end, with said last-named teeth meshing with the teeth of said first angular sector alternately and in succession.

2. The distributor as claimed in claim 1, in which said teeth of said first angular sector and said two teeth of said rocker arm are shaped such that when mutual meshing exists between one of the teeth and the teeth of the angular sector, the weight of the column of bottles acting on said interceptor member generates a force on contact which tends to disengage the tooth of the rocker arm from the teeth of the angular sector.

3. The distributor as claimed in claim 1, in which said two teeth of said rocker arm, in the rest condition of the distributor, intersect an are passing through the crests of the teeth of said first angular sector.

4. The distributor as claimed in claim 1, in which said interceptor member is a roller having its front extremity rigidly secured to said first toothed sector, said sector comprising a locking pivot which engages with a slot formed in an anchor which moves vertically under the action of an electromagnet, with said pivot being housed in said slot under the action of a spring which exerts a force opposite to that of said electromagnet.

5. The automatic distributor for substantially cylindrical objects as claimed in claim 4 in which the anchor is provided not only with a restraining slot for the locking pivot rigid with the first toothed sector, but also with a tooth of cusp profile whose vertex is arranged on the centerline of the slot and has a frontal distance from the line joining the two exit corners less than the diameter of the locking pivot and a lateral distance from each of the two exit corners slightly greater than the diameter of said pivot.

6. The distributor as claimed in claim 5, in which the tooth of cusp profile is formed along the edge opposite the slot of an arched slit contained in the anchor.

gg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 306100465 Dated October 5, 1971 Inventor LAMBERTO MAZZA It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the title page, after the claim of priority, insert the following:

[32] August 9, 1.968 [33] Italy 31] 20008A/68 Signed and sealed this 13th day of June 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLE"ICHER,JR. ROBERT GOTISCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. An automatic distributor for substantially cylindrical objects, and more particularly bottled drinks, comprising at least one storage column in which the objects to be distributed are arranged in two vertical rows such that the vertical axes of the two rows are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of any object, said column terminating in an exit channel in which an interceptor member is arranged for movement between a first position in which it impedes the exit of the objects and a second position in which the fall by gravity of a single object at a time is permitted, comprising a device for adjusting the releasing speed of the bottom object and hence the falling velocity of the object distributed including a first toothed angular sector rigidly secured to said interceptor member and rotatable therewith about the vertex of the sector, and a second free rocker arm having a tooth adjacent each end, with said last-named teeth meshing with the teeth of said first angular sector alternately and in succession.
 2. The distributor as claimed in claim 1, in which said teeth of said first angular sector and said two teeth of said rocker arm are shaped such that when mutual meshing exists between one of the teeth and the teeth of the angular sector, the weight of the column of bottles acting on said interceptor member generates a force on contact which tends to disengage the tooth of the rocker arm from the teeth of the angular sector.
 3. The distributor as claimed in claim 1, in which said two teeth of said rocker arm, in the rest condition of the distributor, intersect an arc passing through the crests of the teeth of said first angular sector.
 4. The distributor as claimed in claim 1, in which said interceptor member is a roller having its front extremity rigidly secured to said first toothed sector, said sector comprising a locking pivot which engages with a slot formed in an anchor which moves vertically under the action of an electromagnet, with said pivot being housed in said slot under the action of a spring which exerts a force opposite to that of said electromagnet.
 5. The automatic dIstributor for substantially cylindrical objects as claimed in claim 4 in which the anchor is provided not only with a restraining slot for the locking pivot rigid with the first toothed sector, but also with a tooth of cusp profile whose vertex is arranged on the centerline of the slot and has a frontal distance from the line joining the two exit corners less than the diameter of the locking pivot and a lateral distance from each of the two exit corners slightly greater than the diameter of said pivot.
 6. The distributor as claimed in claim 5, in which the tooth of cusp profile is formed along the edge opposite the slot of an arched slit contained in the anchor. 